


The Brave and the Bold

by Loquatorious



Category: Brave (2012), How to Train Your Dragon (Movies)
Genre: Archery, Childhood Sweethearts, Contest for Marriage, Dragon Riders, F/M, Horseback Riding, Jealousy, Older Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, Swordfighting
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-31
Updated: 2019-05-31
Packaged: 2020-04-05 02:24:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 12,393
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19039258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Loquatorious/pseuds/Loquatorious
Summary: What if Hiccup had decided to compete for Merida's hand in marriage during the contest at Dunbroch castle?Takes place during the movie Brave.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I originally wrote this story years ago on Fanfiction.net and had no intention of posting it here. However, for the sake of prosperity, I've decided to post a tweaked version of the story, with an improved ending. If you want to read the original, the user named DonutChan will be posting the original story on her account with some choice improvements of her own (don't worry, she PM'ed me beforehand and has my permission to do so). Go and give her some love.
> 
> This whole story was inspired by a Mericcup post I found on Tumblr and my mind just started racing with the possibilities of this crossover. I have read many a Mericcup fanfic that has taken its premise and characters too seriously and I wrote this as a sort of antidote for anyone who just wants to revel in the silliness of the whole thing.

The great chief of Berk, Stoick the Vast, looked out over the Scottish Highlands from the castle wall and smiled at the two 10-year-olds that played amongst the local residents. The two children would run in tandem with each other, weaving in and out of the crowd of villagers as they each managed to pinch a bread bun for themselves before making their hasty getaway. They thought they had gone unnoticed but Stoick always saw them. Stoick always looked out for Hiccup, he was the only family he had left, but by Thor's hammer did Hiccup make it difficult for him. Luckily Hiccup was in safe hands today. The young boy was like a moth to a flame when it came to trouble.

Dunbroch was not infested with dragons or outcasts, it was a peaceful settlement a few days south-east of Berk; an easy ally that was run by Stoick's childhood friend and damn near closest to a brother that he ever had, King Fergus Dunbroch. And just as Fergus had watched out for him, Fergus' daughter, Merida, seemed to be having fun showing Hiccup around.

Stoick smiled as he remembered the simpler times of childhood, a time when an entire village did not depend on him to provide protection, morale, food and leadership. A time when he and Fergus would go hunting and prank the other villagers. A time when a dragon was a simple annoyance that he could crush with bare hands and not a flaming monster of death that could get anyone killed at any moment. Being a chief was tough, yes. Did it have its benefits though? Definitely. Being a chief meant that he could order people around and not be accused of bullying and he could see Fergus whenever he had the time. Today he and Hiccup had the chance to visit Scotland because the dragons had left to have their young and would not return for many weeks. This time of year was a welcome blessing to Berk as it allowed the people to relax, stocks to be refilled and Stoick to visit Dunbroch and Fergus.

The aforementioned king patted Stoick on the back with vigour as he laughed a greeting.

"I can see your Hiccup is a hit with Merida," Fergus chuckled heartily.

"It's a good thing too," Stoick replied, "He doesn't have many friends back at home."

"Wonder if it's 'cause ya named him Hiccup."

Stoick chuckled at this.

"No, that was Valka's name for him."

"And ya kept it?"

Stoick turned to look at Hiccup again as he scampered through the market place.

"I start to see more of her in him every day," he said quietly, "It wouldn't be right to name him anything else."

"How are you dealing with her being gone?" Fergus asked, genuine concern laced his voice. He had been devastated when he heard Valka was taken by dragons and he knew Stoick would be too. He remembered when he met Stoick all those years ago when Valka had just been taken. His eyes were filled with sorrow, the energy that he usually commanded was shattered and it saddened Fergus to see his best friend like that.

Stoick smiled appreciatively at Fergus and chuckled humourlessly.

"That was far too long ago to dwell on now," Stoick said firmly, "But whenever I kill or maim a dragon...I always think of her, just how much I want her back."

"Well, how has Hiccup been with it?"

"Hiccup's been well, actually. A little on the curious side, but all limbs still attached."

"Why wouldn't they be?"

"Ah, Hiccup always tries to go off finding dragons, he's obsessed with 'em."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Not when you're Hiccup it isn't! That child's so fragile that he wouldn't stand a chance against a dragon."

"Have ya tried training him?"

"Of course I have, but he..." Stoick sighed in annoyance, "He just... doesn't get it."

Fergus just sighed, leaning on the castle wall, arms folded.

"Look, he's gonna have ta defend himself eventually! He's gonna become a chief!"

"I know."

Stoick looked down at his young son and frowned as he remembered the boy after he'd been beaten up at the forge one night. The bruises and dirt that covered the child's body haunted Stoick even to this day. The boy was not built to be a Viking and he wondered if Hiccup ever would be able to become chief by the time Stoick kicked the bucket.

"I know..."

* * *

Merida pulled Hiccup by the hand into a small gap in the wall and focused her hardest on containing her laughter as the angry baker ran right past them. The two children burst into fits of giggles as soon as their chaser was out of earshot. She smiled smugly as she took a triumphant bite out of her bun.

"Mmm, delicious," she exclaimed through a full mouth towards a smiling Hiccup who also took a bite.

"Worth the run?" he asked.

"Oh, definitely," she replied happily as she finished the bun, "I could go for another!"

"But we just stopped running," Hiccup whined, "I'm tired!'

"Come on, ya wee fishbone," Merida teased. As soon as the words left her mouth Hiccup flinched as if something had stung him.

"What's wrong?" Merida asked at his reaction. Hiccup blushed bashfully.

"Sorry, just a reflex," he replied quietly, "Is it OK if you don't call me that?"

"What? Fishbone?" Merida asked to which Hiccup slightly shivered.

"Y-yes," he said.

"How come?"

"It's what the others call me when they hit me."

"That's not very nice!"

"I know."

"So why do they do it if it's not nice?"

"Because I can't fend for myself," Hiccup replied solemnly. Merida crossed her arms angrily.

"Well, if they do it again, tell me and I can punch em!" she smiled as she thrust her fist into her palm. Hiccup smiled and nodded, Merida noticed his crooked front teeth that shone through his lips and quickly decided that she liked them.

"Now cheer up, laddy! There be sausage rolls!" Merida said as she pointed to stall selling the precious delicacy. Hiccup's grin only widened as his eyes spied the pasty treats.

"Last one to get a roll is a loser!" Hiccup exclaimed as he rushed out of the alcove and into the busy market place.

"Oh, I'm not going to lose to a boy!" Merida cried as she rushed after him. For such a skinny boy, Hiccup was surprisingly fast and Merida only just managed to keep up with him in her dress. She laughed as he tried to swipe a roll and the whole pile came toppling over, leaving Merida with the opportune chance to grab one as well and disappear out of sight.

She rounded a bend and found a smiling Hiccup digging into his roll.

"That's not fair!" Merida said to a smug Hiccup, "You had a head start!"

"I still won!" Hiccup taunted, sticking his tongue out.

Merida stuck her tongue out as well as she giggled along with him. She had never this much fun with another kid before, all the others were far too scared to play with her or go exploring with her but Hiccup was different. No matter what she wanted to do, Hiccup was all for it. She loved having a friend like that and hoped to have him around for a long time.

"Can I keep you?" Merida thought aloud and instantly regretted it. She blushed as Hiccup burst into laughter. "Shut up, you!"

"Why do you ask that?" Hiccup asked in between giggles.

"Well, I've wanted a friend like you and you have to leave tomorrow," Merida replied solemnly.

"Well the closest thing to keeping me is marrying me," Hiccup said shyly but with conviction. Merida openly grimaced at the thought.

"Bah! No thanks!" she exclaimed. "I don't want to get married!"

Hiccup looked down at the ground.

"Not even to me?" he asked hopefully. Merida looked at him guiltily.

"Well, maybe marrying you might not be bad," she replied.

"Tell you what," Hiccup chirped, "How about we make a deal. When you have to get married, I will come back and ask you. That way you can say no and show that you don't want to get married or say yes and we can get married."

Merida looked at Hiccup and imagined him on one knee with her in a white dress and flowers in her hair. What she would usually just dismiss as a girly idea seemed quite appealing at the moment. Merida never thought she would want to have a wedding but if it were with Hiccup she might be able to see it happening and maybe even enjoy it. She smiled at Hiccup and held out her hand.

"Ya got yourself a deal, Hiccup," she said as Hiccup took her hand and shook it and sealed the deal that they had just thought up of.

What then just seemed like a childish deal that would be lost to time as the two heirs grew up would turn out to be something that would decide the two children's fates in the years to come.


	2. The Suitors Arrive

**-6 Years Later-**

The sun's rays penetrated the small gap in between Merida's curtains, casting a thick light onto the wooden floor of the princess' bedroom. The air was warm and still as the bushy ginger slept peacefully and quietly, her thoughts far away from any regal matters such as today or tomorrow. In Merida's mind, she was at peace. It was a peace that the young girl cherished in her hectic life. It was a peace that was quickly interrupted by the curtains being ripped open and the sunlight fully entering the room.

"Morning!" Elinor chirped as she strode over to the still sleeping princess. The queen took hold of the covers and pulled them off the princess, disturbing her from slumber, "That means get up, lazybones! We have visitors today."

"Urgh!" Merida moaned disapprovingly as she clawed at the sheets, "Five more minutes!"

"Nope!" Elinor replied as she pulled the covers along with a dreary Merida onto the floor, "This is a big day for the kingdom. You need to get up!"

Merida grimaced as she remembered what day it was. Today was the day her freedom would be sold for peace, the day her life ended, the day her suitor was chosen.

"No!" Merida droned as she clung to the covers. Elinor crossed her arms and sighed.

"Either get up or I'm getting the boys in here," she warned.

"Don't you dare!" Merida growled.

"Oh, BOYS!" Elinor called. Merida stood up straight immediately as she heard three little pairs of feet scamper down the hallway towards her room.

"OKAY, OKAY, I'M UP!" Merida cried.

"Good," Elinor said contently, "NEVER MIND, BOYS!"

Merida grabbed a chair for balance as the blood came rushing to her head.

"Now let's get you into this dress," Elinor said as she held out the turquoise death trap that Merida had to wear to the event.

"Oh, lord, do I have to?" Merida whined.

"Yes, now stand here and I'll sort you out. You're going to look spectacular!"

Over the next agonisingly slow thirty minutes, the queen managed to squeeze the young Scottish princess into the dress and tighten it just enough to inhibit movements too large, such as full leg movement... or breathing. Merida had never been more uncomfortable in her life as she stood in front of her mother, fighting the dress for basic movement. Elinor had adoration sparkling in her eyes as she examined her daughter in her dress.

"You look absolutely beautiful," he gasped as she smiled.

"I…I can't breath!" Merida managed to groan as she stood stiff as a board for the viewing of the queen.

"Give us a twirl," Elinor ordered with a twirl of her finger. Merida stuck out her bottom lip as she slowly turned around before returning to her original spot.

"I can't move! It's too tight!" Merida complained as she tried to stretch her arms against the fabric. Her mother, however, looked on with tears entering her eyes. To her, Merida had never looked so regal.

"It's perfect," she said quietly as looked compassionately at her daughter. Guilt immediately flooded her mind as she thought of Merida's outburst the day before. She wanted to speak to her daughter so badly it hurt. Maybe if she just...

"Merida," Elinor said but she stopped as she examined her daughter again. Merida looked at her mother expectantly.

"Mom?" Merida asked, desperate for her to continue. Perhaps this was it, the moment when they settled their differences and this whole nightmare would be over. Maybe this was it.

Elinor looked into Merida's waiting eyes and frowned. No, she could not do this. Elinor knew the consequences. Peace had to be kept, no matter the cost.

"Just…remember to smile," Elinor said as she forced a smile onto her lips. And with that she turned on her heel and walked out of the room, leaving a downcast Merida to look on in disappointment. This was it, her fate. She looked out over the Dunbroch lake and saw three ships on the horizon heading straight for the castle and frowned. How she wished that one of those ships were from Berk. She had missed Hiccup after all these years. The last time she had seen him, she was merely thirteen and still a child. Hiccup had always been the older one by one year and therefore had always been slightly taller than Merida however he was still the skinny young boy she had met all those years ago and always remained a good friend in her heart. Whenever she felt down or alone, the thought of seeing Hiccup again would pick her up. She wished to see him one more time before she got married, he still had a promise to keep after all.

Merida sighed as she realised how childish she sounded. She doubted Hiccup even remembered the promise they had come up with, they were so little, so naïve. She doubted Hiccup would even show up and even if he did, Merida knew that he would never win in a contest against the other sons of the clans. He would not last a single round against the other clan boys, he was so small compared to them, so weak that Merida dreaded to think what the other boys would do to him in a one-to-one fight.

She refused to shed a tear as she pulled a strand out hair out from under the hood of her dress and let the fiery lock cascade down her face. Hiccup would not be coming for her. She would have to deal with this herself.

* * *

Merida sat as comfortably as she could on her wooden throne as she looked on over the courtyard.

"Places! Places, everyone!" the queen ordered as the huge wooden gates swung open and the three clan leaders marched into the courtyard.

There were three clans currently present: the Dingwall clan, the Macintosh clan and the MacGuffin clan each lead by lords of the same names. Lord Dingwall was a short, grey haired warrior with chins for a neck and a boisterous attitude despite his size. Lord Macintosh was quite the opposite, he was a thin tall figure with blue Celtic body paint all over his body. His black hair was wavy and wild which perfectly matched his personality. Lord MacGuffin was a tall, muscular, bearded scot that looked just smaller than Fergus and blond. Each if the lords strode proudly into the area with smug grins plastered onto their faces. They all stood in a line in front of the king and bowed, except Lord Dingwall who ordered a small step ladder to stand on.

King Fergus stood on the raised platform and attempted to address the crowd.

"So, here we are!" he announced, unsure of what to say, "The four clans! Uh…gathering…uh…for…"

Elinor let out an exasperated sigh and stood up to address the crowd.

"The presentation of the suitors!" she finished.

"The presentation of the suitors!" Fergus quickly followed.

The crowd cheered as the king and queen took their seats to start the presentation.

"Clan Macintosh!" Fergus called.

Lord Macintosh quickly stepped up and presented a young man, with body paint and hair similar to his father's, brandishing a sword as he tried to show off his prowess, presumably to Merida.

"Your majesty," Lord Macintosh began, "I present my heir and scion, who defended our land from the Norman invaders and, with his own sword, stabbed and vanquished a thousand foes!

The entire Macintosh cheered as the young heir flex his muscle to an embarrassed Merida, who was trying desperately to hide her face with her dress' tiny hood.

Fergus hushed the clan and turned to face the next chief.

"Clan MacGuffin!" Fergus addressed.

"Your majesty, I present my eldest son," Lord MacGuffin announced as he gestured a tall, chunky, nervous boy who, like the young Macintosh, greatly resembled his father, "Who scuttled the Viking warships and, with his bare hands, vanquished _two_ thousand foes."

Lord MacGuffin's son then proceeded to crush a thick plank of wood in half as a show of strength. The entire MacGuffin tribe cheered for their champion.

"Clan Dingwall!" Fergus called next. Lord Dingwall adjusted his belt as he gestured in the direction of a huge, scarred, dark hunk of a man who stood menacingly in front of the crowd. Whilst Merida was intrigued by the giant of a warrior standing in front of her, Fergus' face was one of disbelief as he mentally compared the tall stranger to the small Lord beside him.

Lord Dingwall now had the attention of the entire courtyard as he began to speak.

"I present my only son, who was besieged by ten thousand Romans and he took out a whole armada single-handedly! With one arm he was…"

Suddenly Lord Dingwall noticed the huge man standing beside him and sighed pulling out a small and weedy looking from behind the tall young warrior.

"With one arm, he was steering the ship, and with the other, he held his mighty sword and struck down a whole attacking fleet."

Everyone stood awkwardly as Lord Dingwall held up the arm of the twig that was his son. A think silence overcame the crowd until a random voice broke it with a cry of:

"Lies!"

Lord Dingwall did not take this well.

"What? I heard that! Aye! Say it to my face! Or are you scared simpering jackanapes? Afraid to muss your pretty hair?"

Lord Macintosh took the opportunity to further insult the ranting chieftain

"At least we have hair!" he said smugly.

Lord MacGuffin soon joined in as well.

"And all our teeth!" he jeered through his thick Scottish accent.

MacGuffin's son also tried to join in but his accent was so thick that no one could understand him. Lord Macintosh continued the verbal onslaught.

"And we don't hide under breeches, you grumpy old troll!" he teased.

Everyone in the crowd laughed at the Lord's seething comment to which Lord Dingwall replied:

"You wanna laugh, huh?" Lord Dingwall asked as he turned to his son, "Wee Dingwall!"

Suddenly the young Dingwall jumped onto Lord Macintosh and with his big teeth bit into his arm. And with that, a brawl broke out, with everyone fighting each other.

"ORDER! ORDER!" Fergus cried but no one listened as the brawl became more and more intense. Elinor groaned as she watched the fight spiral out of control. Merida, however, was loving it. Finally, something fun was happening!

The fight was at its peak when three loud knocks on the oak doors drew silence from the crowd.

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

Nobody moved, nobody blinked, nobody breathed. Everyone was transfixed on the doors as they began to open. Everyone who had been previously fighting quickly rearranged themselves into their clans as the oak door revealed the person on the other side. The person in question was a Viking chief that smiled when he saw the congregation.

"I hope we're not too late," he said as he and several other Vikings filed into the courtyard.

"Stoick the Vast!" Fergus exclaimed. "Finally come for another visit?"

Merida's heart started to race as soon as she heard Stoick's name spoken aloud. If he was here, then maybe...

"Actually I've come to enter my son into the contest for the princess Merida's hand in marriage!" Stoick announced. Merida's heart rose at the prospect of seeing Hiccup again and for the first time that day she smiled a genuine smile. A few laughs from the crowd could be heard, especially from the three lords and their sons.

"Hiccup?" Lord Macintosh scoffed, "Well where is he then? Is he hiding behind you?"

Stoick laughed a hearty laugh before crossing his arms. Merida strained in her seat to find her Hiccup but to no avail.

"No, my son decided to take his own transport," Stoick replied cryptically, "He should be here any moment now..."

"What does that-" But the young Macintosh never finished his sentence as he was interrupted by the loudest boom that Merida had heard in her life. She looked up to find the source of the noise and saw it. The silhouette of a creature she would never forget. It looked like a huge bat flying overhead and the only word that came to her mind was one that had haunted the Scots for many years and was the reason why no sane Scot ever ventured near the Island of Berk: Dragon!

Then something strange happened; as soon as the creature started to dive, another silhouette appeared from behind it. It looked like nothing Merida had ever seen before, like a man with wings. And it was headed straight for the ground! The two creatures came spiralling toward the earth so fast that they were barely a blur in her vision. Faster and faster and faster the two silhouettes circled each other, until, right before they hit the castle floor, the dragon pulled out its mighty wings, whilst the other swooped back into the air using its momentum. The black dragon landed gracefully on the stone of the courtyard and roared a thundering roar that sent shock waves through the people around it.

Its companion folded its wings into itself and landed softly beside the giant lizard. It turned out that it was no creature at all that had accompanied the dragon on its descent. Rather it was a tall, athletic young man in leather body armour, adorned with a red dragon emblem painted on his shoulder and a mask that covered his head and face. The entirety of his left leg up to his knee had been replaced by a wooden contraption.

In this time, Stoick had managed to push and shove his way to the front of the crowd and stood proudly presenting the mystery man.

"This, your majesty," Stoick began, "Is Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third."

As soon as the words left his mouth the young man took off his helmet and ruffled the dark brown hair that sat atop his head. He looked up, revealing Hiccup's smirking face.

Every thought process in Merida's head was gone as she stared at her childhood friend who was now her would-be suitor. Fergus' jaw had dropped completely as he too stared at the young man who bowed toward the king. Stoick decided to continue.

"He is the first Viking in 300 hundred years to not kill a dragon and the first in recorded history to tame and ride a night fury. He and his dragon have single-handedly defeated the Red Death and Daggur the Deranged. He has formed and lead the first and only army of Dragon Riders this world has ever seen. He can and has taken on armadas alone and won and is the greatest warrior Berk has seen in centuries."

Merida stared open-mouthed at the young warrior that was once her skinny best friend and let out a breath she did not know she was holding. Things were certainly about to get interesting!


	3. Meeting the Clans

Merida was more than nervous as she approached the giant tent that awaited her. She felt her heart pounding inside her chest so hard that she was amazed that no one else could hear it. Just the door to the tent made her want to run away and hide. The tent itself was not so threatening, it consisted of a simple red canopy with a flag bearing the symbol of the Hairy-Hooligans tribe on it. What, or who, Merida was nervous of however was currently inside and awaiting her visit. Merida saw that her usually steady hands that she constantly used for archery were now shaking violently. She had never been this anxious in her life. On the other side of the thick canvas of the tent was one of her only childhood friends, this would be the first time she had properly spoken to him in three years and that scared her more than anything else.

The reason she was doing this was that it was traditional for the king, queen and princess of the land to meet the each of the suitors and their family in their suitor's quarters before the contest the next day. This year each suitor and clan leader stayed in a canopy tent each wearing their own colour and crest. So far she had been through three, each as awkward of embarrassing for her as the last.

She decided to start off with the MacGuffin clan. Their son was silent for almost the entire time and when he did speak even Fergus could not understand his deep Scottish accent. The only thing the young MacGuffin had going for him was his size and strength, anything else was 'subtly' overlooked.

Next Merida and her family met the Macintosh clan and the young Macintosh was very lucky that her dress was constricting her otherwise he would have ended the evening with a black eye. He would constantly attempt to flirt with Merida and whenever her eyes wandered his way he flexed his pretty unimpressive muscles. He seemed to radiant a conceitedness that Merida inwardly groaned at. But no matter how the heir to the Macintosh clan tried to wow Merida, she seemed unconvinced that he was the warrior that his parents were making him out to be.

Ever since Hiccup had entered on his dragon, the Macintoshs had tried to spread as many stories about their son's amazing defeats of dangerous creatures such as snakes and bears to try and compare to Hiccup's defeat of the Red Death and in their defence  
Merida could see why.

The Red Death was one of the many reasons that the Scots never travelled North and Berk was left alone for the Vikings to take over. Even Merida had heard of the Red Death; it was THAT infamous. So imagine everyone's surprise when Hiccup pulled out a tooth from the Red Death's mouth as proof of his endeavours. However the Macintosh son had no other proof of the massive amount of killer bears that he had slain apart from a 'bear fur' cloak that he had pulled out of his travelling bag which Merida, from her many hunts in the forests around the castle, instantly recognised as rabbit fur.

Merida then moved on to visit the slightly dim son of the Dingwalls. Merida was constantly trying to keep a straight face whenever she saw wee Dingwall's vacant expression that clearly exhibited his massive front teeth. Not only this but whenever Lord Dingwall finished his stories about the 'legendary warrior' that was his son he would usually poke his heir with his elbow and say "Right, son?" to which the wee Dingwall would just give a sleepy nod and go back to being enchanted by a fly in the roof of the tent.

Overall Merida had been uninterested in the each of the suitors and thoroughly bored until she reached Hiccup's tent. Even now she was struggling to bring up the courage to open the entrance to his quarters and her family was getting bored quickly.

"Merida, please go inside before-" Elinor had started before her face was one of pure terror. Merida quickly turned around and came face to face with a red dragon with flames emanating from its nostrils. Its head and shoulders were sticking out of the entrance menacingly as it towered over everyone, including Fergus. Merida took an evasive step back, readying herself, wishing desperately that she had her bow or her hunting knife. As if either of those things could possibly help against a _dragon_ , she chided herself. It looked riled up and was about to open its mouth when a sudden shout came from inside the tent.

"HEEL, BOY! GET BACK INSIDE, RIGHT NOW!"

The dragon slithered back inside the tent. Merida and her family rushed in after it to see a group of six teens each with their dragon sitting around a fire. The Scottish royalty would have been amazed by each of the dragons had their attention had not been drawn to the flaming inferno that was the dragon in the middle of the tent. Merida looked around and saw Hiccup standing authoritatively up to the dragon.

"CALM DOWN, BOY," Hiccup commanded loudly as he held a stripy eel up towards the now hurriedly retreating dragon. "Don't make me use this."

Once the terrifying dragon was settled down Hiccup threw away the eel, took what looked like ordinary grass from his pocket and started rubbing it on the dragon's snout.

"Good boy, there we go," Hiccup soothed as the dragon relaxed.

Merida stood speechless as she watched the boy that used to be scared of the local horses easily tame a huge ferocious dragon in front of her very eyes. Fergus, however, was laughing heavily and started clapping, drawing the attention of everyone in the tent, including Hiccup and his dad.

"Very well down, lad," Fergus congratulated Hiccup as he gave him a firm pat on the back. Merida noted that, the last time she saw Hiccup, a pat like that would have knocked him to the floor but instead he stood firmly and shook Fergus' hand.

"It's nothing really once you know how," Hiccup chuckled as he flushed a light shade of red. That flush only grew darker when he saw Merida standing by the entrance way. She too blushed as he approached her. "Hello again," he greeted her as he held out  
his hand nervously.

Merida simply looked at his hand and knocked it out of the way as she ran to embrace her old friend in a rib-crushing hug, which he gladly reciprocated. Her mother beamed at the two young friends as they parted, still holding each other closely. Merida noticed how much he had grown. He was now at least six feet tall and she only just came up to his eye line. His face was also thinner and had a light stubble growing along the jawline.

"I missed you," Merida whispered as tears threatened to flow. Hiccup simply chuckled and kissed her forehead, causing her to flush a deep shade of crimson to match her hair.

"I missed you too," Hiccup replied softly. His expression then turned to one of great amusement as he added, "Comfortable in that dress?"

Merida sighed at him and whacked him affectionately as he laughed.

"Speaking of ridiculous attire, what are these?" Merida asked as she held a small braid that was in Hiccup's hair.

"Those were Astrid's idea," Hiccup said loud enough for a girl on the other side of the tent to reply:

"You said they look cute!"

"I'm a Viking!" Hiccup replied, adjusting himself conspicuously. "We don't do cute!"

"Oh shut up, I like 'em," Merida said as she hugged Hiccup again.

"Ooh, looks like Hiccup's got a girlfriend," a voice chortled from the entrance way. Hiccup's face immediately hardened as he strolled up to the entrance way and slapped the short, chunky, dark-haired Viking that had appeared on the shoulder. "Oww, what was that for?"

"That was leaving your dragon in such a sorry state! He could have killed someone, he was so riled up!" Hiccup scolded. Merida definitely liked this new authority that Hiccup had come to easily command.

"Well I'm sorry but _these three_ ," the teen said as he pointed to the ginger triplets that were holding onto his legs and giggling, "Stole my helmet and my saddle and my mirror!"

"Little legends!" another Viking boy with blonde dreadlocks shouted with a smirk.

"Why do  _you_ have a mirror?" a teen girl with smooth blonde hair, that she had braided into a plait, who was sharpening a huge battle axe asked incredulously.

"I...uh..." the raven-haired boy blushed embarrassedly as everyone in the tent laughed. Merida chuckled as she picked up her three laughing brothers.

"Sorry," she said to the boy who angrily stuffed his helmet back onto his head, "These are my brothers: Harris, Hubert and Hamish."

The three boys in her grip smiled and waved innocently. The blonde from before ran over and scooped them up in one arm.

"I can work with this," she grinned as she carried them over to her dragon.

Hiccup just laughed at his friend.

"I should introduce you to everyone else," Hiccup said as he lead Merida and her family over to the blonde Viking who was now showing the fascinated triplets her battle axe, "This lovely and terrifying warrior is Astrid, my best friend and the closest thing I have to a sister. And her blue dragon there is Stormfly, she's a Deadly Nadder."

He then ushered the group over to a shy chubby blond boy who was holding a huge book under his arm. "This is Fishlegs, our resident dragon manual expert and tactician, and his dragon is Meatlug, a Gronkle who loves rocks by the way."

Next, they moved onto a girl and a boy who Merida guessed where twins since they both had similar faces and blond dreadlocks. They stood next to a green, double-headed dragon. "These are the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut, with their Hideous Zippleback, Barf  
and Belch"

Finally, they arrived at the stout Viking that had disturbed the peace a few minutes before. He was casually standing next to his red dragon as they headed over.

"This is Snotlout," Hiccup groaned, "He's just a guy we took pity on-"

"Hey!" Snotlout protested.

"Yep, pretty much," Tuffnut teased.

"Hey, I was gonna make that joke!" Ruffnut exclaimed.

"Bite me!" Tuffnut replied, sticking his tongue out at his twin who grabbed it and pulled him closer with it.

"Don't think I won't," she growled.

"Who rides this: the Monstrous Nightmare," Hiccup continued as if nothing had happened, gesturing to the flaming red dragon curled up by his side, "a dragon that can spontaneously light itself on fire!"

Fergus looked especially impressed at that.

"Quite a special bunch then?" Fergus laughed.

"Indeed they are," Stoick said proudly as he patted his son on the back.

"But where's your dragon, Hiccup?" Merida asked.

"Oh, he just went hunting for dinner," Hiccup said just as the black dragon that he had arrived ran inside the tent and dropped a fish at Hiccup's feet. "Here you are! This, ladies and gentlemen, is Toothless, the night fury."

Merida at first wondered why he had called the dragon that until Toothless smiled to reveal a mouth that was, well, toothless.

"I swear he had teeth the last time I saw him," Elinor said as she looked at the dragon's mouth.

"Oh, Toothless has retractable teeth," Hiccup explained as a fresh set of teeth appeared in Toothless' mouth. Merida gasped and looked awestruck at the Night Fury.

"Trade him for my horse?" Merida asked teasingly. Hiccup smirked back.

"Not a chance," he replied.

"It's a shame you can't use Toothless in the contest, Hiccup," Fergus said, "I would have love to see you two perform together."

Hiccup thought for a moment before answering.

"Tell you what," he said, "If I win, Toothless and I will do an aerial show."

Fergus smiled and shook Hiccup's hand enthusiastically.

"It's a deal," he said, "But until then we had better get going."

"Just a minute," Merida said, "I'll see you outside."

Fergus and Elinor looked at each and nodded.

"Alright," Elinor said, "But you better be out soon. Come on, boys," she called to the triplets who ran from underneath Hiccup and Snotlout's legs to their mother.

Soon the only redhead left in the tent was Merida. She turned back to Hiccup and hugged him tightly.

"Good luck tomorrow," Merida said as they parted.

"Thanks," Hiccup said as they stared into each other's eyes, cherishing the time they had, however little it was, "I promise, I will win this for you."

"Well, you certainly deliver on your promises," Merida said as she started towards the entrance and slowly opened it, "I'll see you tomorrow."

"See ya," Hiccup replied as she walked out of the tent.

Once she was confident no one could see her, Merida squealed with delight and jumped for joy. Things were definitely starting to look up for her.

Meanwhile, inside the tent, Hiccup was transfixed in a trance as he stared unseeing at where Merida had just been. Then his eyes dropped and he frowned as he remembered the contest. Astrid noticed this and walked up to him.

"What's up?" Astrid said, noticing Hiccup's worried expression.

"What if I don't win?" Hiccup said quietly. "What if she's forced to marry one of the other suitors? What if I let her down?"

Astrid simply smiled and placed a small kiss on his cheek.

"Hey," she whispered encouragingly, "You'll be fine. I've trained you enough."

"I don't see what the big deal is, anyway," Snotlout scoffed. "These Scots ain't too bad. I've dealt with worse. I could easily outsmart that Macintosh kid."

"Snotlout," Ruffnut called, "Where's your helmet?"

Snotlout looked confused until he felt around for his helmet to find an empty head. His eyes widened in realisation.

"H-How did they-" he spluttered as he felt around in his bags until he sighed in defeat. "I hate those little-"

"LEGENDS!" Tuffnut finished.


	4. The Contest Begins

Merida opened her eyes the next morning to see the sun shining through the already opened curtains and into her room. She groaned as she sat up in her bed. She groaned even louder when she saw the blue dress that she had grown to despise the day before  
sitting on a chair beside her. She lay back down in her bed wishing that she could simply fall back to sleep and miss today. It would certainly be the easier option, for her anyway. Maybe if she snuggled a little more closely into the sheets-

SPLASH!

Merida was drenched in cold water. She immediately started up into a sitting position, eyes screwed shut and mouth agape in angry disbelief. She slowly opened her eyes to see her three younger brothers holding an empty bucket and smiling at her.

"OH, THAT'S IT!" Merida shouted as she jumped out of bed to run after the screaming triplets. Before she could run out of the door however her mother grabbed her from behind, laughing as she placed Merida on a wooden stool.

"Good to know the boys' mischief can be turned into some productive," Elinor said as she started to brush Merida's hair.

"If they weren't so fast," Merida mumbled, "They'd be-"

"Now, Merida," her mother scolded, "That's not very lady-like of you."

"Is it not lady-like to breathe?" Merida replied as she glared at the blue dress she was wearing the day before. Any thoughts of destroying that fabric trap were forced from her mind however as her hairbrush was painfully pulled through her bushy orange  
hair.

A bit like Merida's spirit for freedom, her bushy hair was infamous for being impossible to tame. Merida thought that Hiccup probably had an easier job of controlling Toothless than her mother's efforts at straightening her daughter's hair. Merida smiled  
at the sudden thought of Hiccup nervously trying to brush a growling Toothless.

Eventually, though Elinor managed to once again constrict the turquoise nightmare around her daughter and they were both ready to begin the day's events for the contest. The contest was split into three different events: a race on horseback followed by archery and finally a sword fight to first blood.

Merida felt her heart sink as she realised just who Hiccup was going against. The heirs of the clans had probably been trained all their lives for such events as this. Horseback riding was compulsory for nobles to learn and sword fighting was the first skill most Scots learned, besides walking and talking. Even though the sword fight would only be until first blood, Merida was sure that the other competitors, especially the Wee Macintosh, would make sure that the first blood drawn would be from a stab to the heart. Whether Hiccup knew this or not, the competition would be tense and he would have a very hard time trying to win. Then again, if the last 24 hours were any indication, Hiccup was not one to be underestimated.

The aforementioned teen and the three other heirs and their fathers soon arrived and lined up in front of the king. Fergus beamed as he stood and began to address the crowd.

"So, the first event," he started as he glanced at his hand that his wife had scribbled his speech on, "What a...ah, glorious day for it too. This event will be of course the race on...sorry, dear, what does this say? Oh, right! This event will, of course, be the race on horseback through the forest where our...hmm, oh, lookouts, will be monitoring the contestants' progress, yeah that's what it says. So without further...ado? Are you sure it's spelt like that? Oh well. So without- ah screw it! Let's get started already!"

The entire crowd erupted into clamour as Fergus did a thumbs-up to his wife who had a look of exasperation that made Merida chuckle.

"Contestants!" Elinor announced as she addressed the four teen-heirs in front of her, "Go to stables and collect your horses and we'll meet you at the allocated starting point."

Merida's eyes shot up an idea popped inside her head. She eyed the rest of the family, quickly slipped away through the crowd and, as Fergus and company were heading to the start point, ran towards the stables as quickly as she could. There she hid near  
a haystack next to the back of the stable and waited.

Very soon the contestants arrived and she picked up on their conversation.

"Would like help getting on your horsey, Wee Hiccup?" the Macintosh kid teased. Hiccup just glared at him whilst Merida's blood boiled. No one talked to her Hiccup like that. Wait, her Hiccup? Where did come from? Merida shook the thought out of her  
head as Hiccup approached her hiding place.

"Psst! Psst! Hiccup!" Merida called as quietly as she could so only he could hear her. Hiccup turned in her direction and stared at her.

"Merida?" he asked as she motioned for him to come closer, "What're you doing here?"

"Giving you some help," she replied as she pulled by the hand to a certain cubicle and unlocked it. Inside was a black horse that whinnied at the sight of Merida and her friend. "This is my horse, Angus," she explained, "He's the fastest horse in Dunbroch and he's gonna look after ya, aren't ya boy?"

"What do you mean 'look after me'?" Hiccup asked as he stroked Angus' nose.

"Hiccup, do you really think the other kids are gonna play fair? They're gonna try and stop you, I know they will!"

"Don't worry about me," he reassured her as he easily mounted the ebony stallion, "This is just like riding Toothless, except there's no up and down to think about. This is gonna be easy, right Angus?"

Angus huffed in agreement as Hiccup patted his neck affectionately. Merida was still worried, however. She brought Angus' face closer to hers and stroked it tentatively to get his attention. In a low but sincere whisper she ordered him:

"You keep him safe, OK? You keep my Hiccup safe."

Hiccup took Merida's hand and kissed it gently and held it close to his cheek as he lent down to meet her.

"I'll be fine," he said with a smile, "Whatever they try, it can't be worse than this." He gestured to his prosthetic leg as he said this which caused Merida to look up at him with concern plastered all over her face.

"You'd better come back in one piece," she said. She would have said more but then she was interrupted by a horn in the distance calling the contestants to the start of the race.

"You'd better go," Hiccup said as he began to walk out o the stables on a tall, proud Angus.

"Good luck!" Merida called after him as she out of the opposite side of the stables and toward the large viewing tent. She ran as fast as her dress would allow her until she calmly walked onto the viewing platform and sat on her wooden chair. The viewing platform was covered by a canopy and three sheets of canvas that acted as walls to block side-viewing, and it was positioned just to the side of the track and just in front of a stone plinth that protruded out of the grass. Elinor eyed her daughter suspiciously and was about to ask where she had been until a certain contestant lined up on the starting line riding a certain horse that was Merida's favourite.

The other competitors did not have such luck when it came to their steeds. Lord Macintosh's son had chosen a brown horse who looked annoyed enough to buck the gloating teen at any moment; the MacGuffin heir had chosen a horse far too small for him and Hiccup could see its legs genuinely shaking from trying not to collapse from the weight; Wee Dingwall had the calmest of the three horses, however from the way he was holding on to the reigns to the expression on his face suggested that he had never  
seen a horse in his life, let alone ridden one.

Fergus stood and signalled the trumpeters to stand by.

"The race will begin when the trumpets sound! All you have to do is be the first around the forest path and back here to take this statuette" he announced as he held up the mentioned wooden item, "From this plinth and switch it with the statuette of your colour which you will find somewhere along the track."

Hiccup gave Merida a confident smirk as he familiarised himself with riding a horse. The only experience with riding he had was with toothless and other dragons at the academy back on Berk but with Angus, it seemed a little less alien than he expected. All he had to do was focus on where he wanted to go and Angus did the rest.

"Ready, bud?" Hiccup whispered to Angus who whinnied enthusiastically, "Good. Let's make Merida proud."

"Ready!" Fergus shouted as the horses lined up to the starting posts, "SET..."

Hiccup took one last look at Merida who smiled encouragingly. He winked cheekily and thought he saw her blush before he looked back to the track ahead of him that entered the dark forest.

"Let's do this!" he whispered to Angus as the black horse prepared to run.

Suddenly the trumpets sounded with a mighty bellow and Hiccup was nearly thrown off his saddle as Angus started galloping at full speed along the track. Hiccup managed to take the reigns just as Angus was about to round the first corner. The horse rocketed through the course with Hiccup guiding him. Hiccup was surprised how similar to riding Toothless it was and immediately managed to find a comfortable pace and enough force on the reigns to guide the speeding Angus without causing discomfort.

Hiccup took the opportunity to look behind him and the Macintosh heir closing in on him with a murderous glint in his eyes.

"You're not gonna win, fishbone!" the Macintosh teen jeered, "And I'm gonna make sure of it!" Suddenly the teen pulled out his sword and held it up above his head, ready to slash it down on Hiccup's neck.

"What the Hel!" Hiccup cried as Macintosh took a swing. Hiccup ducked as the sword swung far too close to his head for comfort and urged Angus to go faster. Macintosh took another swing and Hiccup dodged it again just as he saw a red statuette of a dragon hanging loosely from a branch. Hiccup quickly reached up and grabbed the statuette and tucked it under his arm, never making Angus slow down.

Hiccup saw that Macintosh was still right behind him and was raising his sword again. However, when Macintosh raised his sword to its peak he accidentally cut off a low-hanging branch covered in thorns that whipped the young contestant in the face and caused him to fall off his horse, that was now very relieved that it no longer had to carry the prattling moron.

Hiccup chuckled to himself and looked back to the track to see light and the end of the forest track. Hiccup and Angus galloped out of the forest to be greeted by thunderous applause. Hiccup ignored this as he directed Angus towards the plinth in front of the viewing box. Hiccup jumped off of Angus and landed gracefully in front of plinth and replaced the wooden statuette of a sword with his red dragon model. He then bowed to clapping king Fergus and a cheering Merida.

"NOOO!" a voice cried. Hiccup wheeled around and saw the young Macintosh running out of the forest grove clutching his blue statuette, "HE CHEATED! I WANT A REMATCH!"

"I'm sorry, young Macintosh," Elinor said, "There will be no rematch. Hiccup won this round."

The Macintosh boy then threw his sword down on the ground, jumping around furiously.

"Well, that's attractive," Merida commented sarcastically.

The crowd then burst into laughter as the last two competitors appeared out of the forest. The MacGuffin heir's horse was so tired from carrying the boy that the young Scot was having to literally drag it across the line. He was then followed by Wee Dingwall who had somehow managed to end up sitting the wrong way round on his saddle.

Once the laughter had died down and the clan leaders had finished arguing over who had actually won, Fergus stood to speak.

"Well, wasn't that an entertaining race?" No one answered but a few sniggers could be heard. "So the results are that Hiccup of the Hairy Hooligans tribe came first-" A sudden round of applause came from the Vikings in the audience, "Ahem, the heir to the Macintosh clan came second-" Another round of applause came from the Macintosh clan as the bitter contestant glared at Hiccup, "As I was saying, the MacGuffin heir came third-" Fergus was once again interrupted by a round of applause, "WILL YOU LOT, SHUT UP! Good, now I regret to say that the young Dingwall boy, though he showed...special skills in the race, came last and therefore has been eliminated from the contest."

Lord Dingwall screamed with rage as the other two leaders laughed. Stoick simply looked on proudly at his son who smiled back with glee.

"Now, let's get on to the next event which is the...um..."

"Which is," Elinor continued for him, "Archery!"


	5. The Contest Continues

The procession made its way towards the open grasslands on top of a rolling hill. Decorating the hillside were three targets, single arrow embedded in a post to the side of each. The three remaining competitors each took their places fifty yards from the targets and waited.

Merida, Elinor and Fergus each took their seats as the crowd stood behind the champions. Fergus then rose to address the eagerly awaiting tribes.

"So, archery then," Fergus began, "Simple enough. The two contestants that shoot their arrow closest to the middle of the target are through to the final round. Each contestant has brought their own shooting arms, I presume?"

The crowd looked to the three young competitors. The MacGuffin boy held his wooden bow proudly in his ham fist to the applause of his clan. Young Macintosh put down his sword - 'For once,' Merida thought - and held his varnished bow high above his head. Hiccup however simply held-

"A shield?" Young Macintosh laughed along with the rest of the crowd, except the Vikings who were wearing knowing looks on their faces, "Trust Hiccup to come to an archery contest with a shield."

Merida found herself glaring at the Young Macintosh yet again as he chortled. He was lucky she didn't have a bow and arrow in her hand otherwise-

"Oh, you mean this?" Hiccup asked rhetorically, "It's a shield of my own creation."

"Now there's nothing wrong with a little unorthodox firearm, is there?" Fergus said above the crowd. "At least it will make the contest more interesting. Now let's get on with it!"

The crowd buzzed as the MacGuffin heir carefully took his arrows and placed it in his bow. Merida was almost cringing by how much the lad was butchering her fine sport; breaking down his grip and his aim she knew at once how his shot would end up.

MacGuffin carefully eyed the target and released his arrow. Merida had to give the young boy credit, the power and speed of the arrow were impressive however its aim was abysmal. The arrow buried itself just outside the target. The MacGuffin let out a sigh of defeat as its champion drooped.

Then it was Macintosh's turn. He confidently strolled up to the mark and readied his arrow. His arm and set up was a lot better, Merida noted. Maybe the young contestant stood a chance. Macintosh smirked as he released his arrow. It flew straight towards the target and landed just outside the bullseye. Close, very close. A couple of inches short of the yellow area. It was an impressive, short, considering the wind and the distance-

"NOOOOOO!" The young heir screamed her thoughts, as he threw his bow to the ground.

"Come on, son," Lord Macintosh said as he tried to reassure his son, "At least it hit the target."

But it was hopeless. It took the young Macintosh a while to cool down and by then it was Hiccup's turn. With a determined look in his eyes, he walked to the firing spot and gripped his shield. He then lifted the silver contraption and pulled a lever on the underside. The shield then split and transformed into a ready armed crossbow. This drew a wave of approval from the crowd and a look of disbelief and fury from Macintosh.

Hiccup however ignored all of this and looked straight down the spine of the bow, focusing on Astrid's training.

"You just have to stay focused and keep steady," Astrid had told him as they practised in the cove where they found Toothless. They had been shooting targets all day and still, he had not mastered the bow in his hands. Hiccup sighed with desperation.

"Astrid it's hopeless," Hiccup groaned.

"Well, you seem to be able to hit targets on Toothless."

"Yes, but he understands me. He knows what I want to hit."

"Yeah, he understands you and you understand him. That's all you have to do, understand the bow."

"I try, but it's so different from Toothless."

"Exactly," Astrid explained, "Just pretend that the bow is alive. And in a way it is. You just have to aim and pull, the bow does the rest. Try it again and this time pretend it's alive."

Hiccup sighed and readjusted his bow. He looked at the target and then to the bow and tried to picture the bow being a terrible terror. He imagined the string as its tail and the arrow as its fire and suddenly felt more sure of himself as he let it fly.

  
The arrow went straight through the air and landed dead in the bullseye.

"Yes!" Astrid exclaimed as she lightly punched him on the shoulder, "You're getting it!"

Hiccup never forgot the joy of finally hitting that target, knowing that he finally could go and hunt with Merida and protect himself. But that was years ago Hiccup though and he focused back to present. He eyed the target and imagined the wide crossbow as the back of Toothless' head. He adjusted the bow, judging the speed of the airflow around him, the long stretch of land that lay between him and the target. Seemingly set, he reached forward to pull the trigger.

"LEFTABIT," Merida coughed loudly, pounding her chest. "Sorry, just a bit of hayfever."

"Of course," Elinor agreed sardonically.

Hiccup adjusted accordingly. 'You'd better be right, Merida.' Finally, he pulled the trigger. The arrow unleashed itself from the bow at tremendous speed. Merida squeezed her chair as she watched the arrow fly through the air towards the target, wishing with all her might that Hiccup's aim was true.

The seconds turned into hours. Time stopped and suddenly as if were a thunder crack, the arrow splintered the wooden target. Merida looked around to see the result. She nearly screamed with joy as she saw the arrow impaled in the bullseye. The crowd cheered as Hiccup turned and bowed. Merida wildly at his victory while laughing as Macintosh threw another tantrum.

Elinor stood before Fergus had a chance and silenced the crowd.

"Impressive display from all competitors there but only two can pass into the final round and as shown by the results I am afraid that the MacGuffin tribe has lost this event."

The MacGuffin tribe groaned and the Vikings and the Macintoshes cheered in victory.

"Now the final event-"

"Yes, the final event!" Fergus exclaimed in excitement, "A sword fight to first blood!"

Merida could only look at Hiccup nervously as Macintosh's eyes suddenly adopted a murderous glint.

"This event will take place in the courtyard so, everyone, follow us!" Fergus commanded.

Merida however quickly ran to where Hiccup was standing and threw her arms around him.

"Hey, Merida," Hiccup chuckled then stopped as he saw her face, "Merida, what's wrong?"

"I'm scared for you! That what's wrong!" Merida cried as she held onto Hiccup's slim frame.

"I'll be fine, Merida."

"Macintosh is going to try and kill you!"

"The Red Death and Daggur the Deranged couldn't do it so I'd like to see him try-"

"Hiccup, please," Merida urged as tears threatened to fall, "Be careful."

Hiccup smiled as he brushed a thumb across her cheek.

"I've never seen you so passionate before," Hiccup chuckled. "I hope you're not going soft on me, Merida."

Merida straightened herself. She readjusted her outfit.

"Of course not," she replied. "I just don't want to see my wee Hiccup get hurt."

"Wee Hiccup?" Hiccup asked with a fake Scottish accent, "Excuse me, princess, but I am taller than you."

"Hey, my hair adds some height!"

"Not right now it doesn't," Hiccup pointed out as he patted the fabric that was wrapped around Merida's head.

"Oi," she whacked him on the arm, causing him to chuckle. She glanced around, only to find that the two were the only ones left on the grassy plains. "We're alone."

"We are," Hiccup noted. 

Merida found herself gazing at the forest that lay across the horizon.

"We could run away, Hiccup," she whispered. "We could run away right now. We could take Toothless and Angus... they'd never be able to find us..."

"Hmm," Hiccup replied. He wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close. "We could. But we'd never be able to stop running. Once you start, you never stop."

She looked up him, staring him straight in the eye.

"Is that why you never ran away?" she asked. "Not even when I told you to?"

"There are some things you can't run from," Hiccup sighed. "I don't want to run away from this."

He placed her hand over his heart.

"I wanna fight for this," he said. "I want to earn it, for you."

She closed her fingers arond his hand, bringing it up to her lips. 

"You already have," she whispered, "The moment you came back for me."

"Hiccup! Merida! Let's go, it's about to start!" Stoick called.

"Coming," Hiccup shouted back. He planted one last kiss on her forehead. "I'm doing this for you, Merida. Only you."

"I know, Hiccup," she assured him. 

"Good," he smirked. "So you won't be angry when I do this-"

He grabbed Merida's hand and started to drag her towards the castle.

"Hey! I'm a princess, you can't do this to me!"

"Well, I'm a Viking and yes, I can!"

The pair eventually arrived at the courtyard where a round, enclosed platform with the young Macintosh already inside was waiting for them.

The teen was currently brandishing his sword and flexing his muscles for the ladies in the audience. Hiccup rolled his eyes as he took his place inside the ring.

"The final event!" Fergus announced, "Our competitors each have a sword and the task is simple. The first competitor to draw blood from the other will win the contest and the hand of the lovely princess Merida."

At this Macintosh smirked and winked towards Merida while Hiccup gave her a reassuring smile. Merida definitely knew who she wanted to win but she also knew that Macintosh would not play nicely. She could tell that he would go for a lethal wound and she was scared. Hiccup had to win this. He had to.

"Competitors, draw your swords!" Elinor shouted.

Macintosh drew his gleaming sword from its sheath and twirled it in his hand. He glared at Hiccup carefully unsheathed a dirty, grimy looking sword that was covered in a dark green substance. Macintosh grinned.

"Not been taking care of your sword?" he asked, "You're practically giving Merida to me."

Hiccup nearly lashed out at the young Scot with his sword but he controlled himself just in time. He instead took an object that looked like a handle with a dragon mouth carved into it and placed it onto the hilt of his sword. He flicked a small trigger and a spark flew out of the handle and landed on his blade which immediately ignited. The crowd murmured with surprise whilst the triplets whistled in awe. Hiccup then sword and brandished the flaming sword, never breaking eye contact with the young Macintosh who now looked a lot less confident.

"Take your stances!" Elinor called.

Immediately the two young teens took up an offensive stance, ready to swing their swords at the other competitor. Merida sat with terrified anticipation as silence fell on the courtyard.

"Ready! BEGIN!"

The teens lunged at each other with fury in their eyes as their sword met with a horrible clang. They set about trying to find a weak spot in each other's defences each to be met with a counter or a parry. Hiccup was quick and nimble, dodging each and every swing, but the young Macintosh was more powerful and stronger than he looked. Suddenly Macintosh did something unexpected. As Hiccup lunged, he grabbed the Viking's arm and raised it upwards and plunged his sword into the side of Hiccup's flight suit as far as it would go. Hiccup looked confused for a second then his eyes fluttered closed as he fell.

Merida screamed before he hit the ground. She looked on in horror as her Hiccup fell loosely to the ground with a thud. Tears streamed down her face as she screamed his name. Macintosh fist-pumped the air as he bowed and smirked at Merida. But the princess did not care about Macintosh, her best friend and her only hope for a happy life now lay in the middle of the ring. She sat, unmoving, her brain overwhelmed with despair as the body of the boy she had grown to love started to stand up and-

Merida did a double-take. Her eyes weren't deceiving her. Hiccup's body was standing up. His eyes, burning with rage, had life in them yet. Her heart soared. The young Viking withdrew the sword from his side, using the hilt to pat the young Macintosh on the shoulder. The contestant, who was confused as to why the crowd had gone silent, turned around to see his competitor holding both swords. Hiccup smirked and slashed both swords, making two thin cuts across the Scotsman's chest. Slowly the cuts openly and started leaking a trail of blood.

The crowd erupted as Merida rushed out of her seat, ignoring her parent's cries and vaulted into the ring, dress be damned! She tackled Hiccup and hugged him so tightly that Hiccup started to see stars in front of his eyes. He then hugged her back as Merida snuggled into the boy she thought she lost. Speaking of which-

"How did you survive?" Merida asked. Hiccup smiled and showed Merida the cut in his suit that went pierced the material all the way through to the other side. Merida squinted and saw that the hole just missed Hiccup's ribs.

"It's a good move, however, he needs to work on his aim," Hiccup said as the young Macintosh glared daggers at him. Hiccup searched the crowd to see Astrid giving him a thumbs up and Snotlout giving him a small salute. Hiccup then smiled wider as he saw two of the triplets lowering the third toddler who had grabbed Snotlout's helmet from one of the castle steps.

"Well," Fergus said as he stood, "Wasn't that an exciting match? It seems we have a winner. Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III, young have proven yourself in all three challenges and have won the hand of Princess Merida."

"No, sir," Hiccup replied to the confusion of everyone in the courtyard, including Merida. "I have won the right to ASK for her hand in marriage."

With that Hiccup knelt in front of the baffled princess.

"Merida, will you do me the honour of marrying me? It doesn't have to be now, heck you don't have to agree but if you-"

"Hiccup," Merida said softly as she took his hands in hers. Hiccup looked up into her blue eyes with hope. Merida had thought about the possibility of marriage and had had a realisation. Every time she considered marriage before now, she had imagined an old arrogant fool that would snap her bow and force her to stay inside all day as a trophy wife. But that was not what she saw when she imagined a life with Hiccup. He too had grown into a free-spirited adventurer, a person she could relate to and confide her worries and secrets with. He was her best friend and now she decided her love. Her future husband. Her Hiccup. So she decided, there was only one thing she could honestly say.

"Yes."

Hiccup's eyes widened and his smile grew into a full-grown grin as he picked her and spun her on the spot. Merida laughed as the crowd, especially the Vikings, roared their applause. Hiccup put Merida and did something which he had thought about doing since he saw her the day before. He kissed her. In front of everyone. And she kissed him back.

Merida had no complaints. Maybe marriage would not be so bad...


	6. Epilogue

Merida and Angus raced through the forest as Hiccup and Toothless raced a few metres above them. The wind raced in her hair as he saw her fiancé diving towards the ground and proceed to fly upside down, his head barely a few feet above the path. He whooped from behind his flight mask as he soared back above the trees. Merida laughed as she and Angus raced to catch up. Hiccup and Toothless then glided level with Merida as Hiccup shouted "SWITCH!"

Immediately the two teens jumped from one steed to the other and Merida took hold on Toothless' neck whilst Hiccup raced below her on Angus. They did this as a practice exercise in the afternoon and it was not strange for Merida and Hiccup to share their trusted animal companions with each other.

"There you go," Hiccup shouted to her as Merida started to control Toothless. "Nice handling!"

"Thanks," Merida shouted back and pointed towards an empty clearing. "I'm gonna land over there!"

"OK, I'll see you on the ground!" Hiccup replied as he raced towards the landing point.

Merida directed Toothless towards the clearing and gently brought him into a slow descent. They both landed gently onto the grass and revived a clap from a grinning Hiccup.

"You're getting good at that," Hiccup said as Merida dismounted.

"As good as you?" Merida asked.

"Uhh, maybe not, but still good."

"Aww," Merida groaned. Toothless then nuzzled her hip as Merida stroked his head. "Toothless likes me."

"Yeah, well he likes anyone who gives him attention. He's a big softy aren't you boy?"

Toothless simply looked at him with an unimpressed expression. Hiccup sighed.

"Well, you do." Hiccup then took Merida into his arms. "Sorry, bud. This one's taken."

"'This one'?" Merida asked incredulously, "What am I, a piece of meat?"

"No but you are my _betrothed_ ," Hiccup said as he gave her lips a quick peck.

"And you're mine, don't you forget," Merida replied as she gave him little Eskimo kisses. Hiccup smiled.

It had been a month since the end of the contest and Hiccup had decided to stay in Dunbroch to prepare for married life with Merida and the family.

"I'm gonna miss you once I go back to Berk," Hiccup said as he pulled his loved one closer into his embrace, treasuring her warmth. The next day would be the end of the month and it would be time to return to his homeland, plus he had to return Snotlout's helmet from the triplets.

"I know, I will too," Merida replied as she snuggled into his arms.

"Tell you what, how about we make a deal?" Hiccup joked as he remembered when they were two awkward kids.

Merida chuckled into his chest, looked up into his green eyes and smiled.

"Well, the last time I made a deal with you I ended up betrothed to a handsome Viking," Merida teased.

"Oh, is he nice?" Hiccup replied cheekily. Merida smirked mischievously.

"Oh, very! He's brave, charming..."

"Mhm?"

"He's also very, very smug," she jabbed at him with his elbow. "And, he's not very good at keeping his belongings safe from thieves."

Hiccup grinned, before noticing his sword in her hand. He glanced at his sheath, that was indeed empty, then back at her.

"You cheeky little-"

She giggled. 

"If ya want it back," she teased, "Ya gonna have to chase me."

"Or," he said as he picked her up swung her into his arms, "I could just take you instead."

"Don't you dare!" She squealed. "Put me down!"

"No."

"Hiccup! Put me down, this is embarrassing!"

"There's no one else here."

"Angus is here," she urged. "He's horrible at keeping secrets."

"I'm sure he is," he teased. He indulged her, placing gently on a nearby rock. "There you go, _your highness_."

She audibly gagged. 

"Are you trying to make me hate you?"

"Honestly, is the love gone already?" He cried dramatically. "Oh, where did it all go wrong?"

"You're such a pansy."

"Yeah, but I'm your pansy."

"Hmm," Merida smiled. "I like the sound of that."

"Well, you get better to use to it," Hiccup grinned, "Because it's not changing any time soon."

"It's a good thing that I love you, then," Merida laughed. 

Hiccup's face dropped. 

"What did you say?"

Merida paused. 

"It's a good thing that I love you?" she repeated. Hiccup quickly looked away.

"I-It's funny," he tried to laugh it off, failing. "I don't remember the last time someone said that to me."

Merida frowned, her brow furrowed. 

"'I love you'?" Merida asked.

Hiccup nodded.

"I think the last person to say that was my mom..."

The woman that had been missing for almost his entire life, she recalled. Merida sighed, sliding down the rock and seating her self so that their sides leaned against one another. Her head found its way to his shoulder.

"Well, you better get used to it," she parroted his sentiments back at him, "Because I love you, you silly man."

"And I love you, too," he said quietly. He glanced back to her, as she turned to face him. Their faces leaned in, meeting in a soft, intimate kiss. "And I will always love you."

"Me too," she nodded. 

He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close.

"Do you think she's still out there?" Hiccup asked. "My mom?"

Merida pondered for a moment.

"Well, if she is," she replied, "We'll find her."

"Really?" Hiccup asked in a voice that reminded her of that small, frail boy that had first met her all those years ago. That little boy who she had fallen in love with before she even knew what love was. 

"Yes," she said promised, just like when they were children. "We will."

They sat together, quiet holding each other until it was time for them to return to the castle. Several promises were made that day, a promise of love, a promise of purpose, a promise of future. Each one of them, just like their first promise, would remain unbreakable. Even many, many years later when Hiccup and Merida had children of their own, with their collected parents to bless them for it, and those children had children of their own. Even at the very end, when the two finally departed from this world, after a long and happy life together, their spirits never strayed far from each other. 

Some say, in time of crisis, the brave and the bold call upon the spirits of the Viking and the Archer to bless them with an everlasting union. By pure coincidence, those who did always stayed together, until the very end.


End file.
